Only Hope
by ronandmion4ever
Summary: With Voldermort dead,the world was supposed to be safe. But when a new deadly enemy comes into play, evil prevails. Now the fate of the world lies in the hands of two teens. They are the only hope for the world, but will they be enough?Full summary inside
1. Chapter 1

Title: Only Hope

Author: Ronandmion4ever

Rated: PG-13 for language and sexual situations and maybe violence. I'm not completely sure.

Summary: With Voldermort dead, the world was supposed to be safe. But when a new deadly enemy comes into play, evil prevails. Now the fate of the world lies in the hands of Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Unfortunately one is in Azkaban and the other is in the possession of one of the most evil Deatheaters. They are the only hope for the world, but will they be enough?

Pairings: Ron/Hermione

Disclaimer: Not mine! It all belongs to JK Rowling.

Authors Note: Well first I would like to say that my plot slightly resembles the plot of Servant Girl, by HermioneWeasley88. How? Because Hermione is a slave of the Malfoys. But I swear I thought of that before she even published her story! And that's the only similarities. So I thought of this on my own, and am not copying her work.

With that being said, I would like to now dedicate this story to my wonderful beta, Penn( which is my special nickname for her, so none of you shall ever be able to have her, she is all mine!haha, I'm quite possesive right now) She is the sweetest, gentlest beta ever (not to mention my first beta) but she still helps my writing tremendously.

And don't worry, I swear this fic will be updated regularly. If not you may do something to me... I don't know. Chapter 2 is already written, and is currrently being beta'd.

Ok, without further ado...

Rarely anyone came out this far in the sea. Even the sea gulls and marine life wouldn't come out this far out. Occasionally, a twitchy Ministry worker appeared at the front gate and briefly look in, but left as soon as they could, glad to be gone. And even more rarely, a boat bearing people –too many to Apparate with which with too safely Apparate – would sail up to the Godforsaken island.

On this day, a multitude of boats approached, gently gliding over the green surface of the sea. The occupants of the boats shivered, not out of cold, but out of fear of what would happen to them inside the looming fortress they were nearing. All except one.

Solitary Ron Weasley sat tall in the prow of the first ship flanked only by Dementors. Many witches and wizards were stunned by his determination and bravery. Though not the Chosen One, he had stood in the face of danger and fought valiantly.

They had all known the final confrontation was going to be a hard fight, but they had hope that they would win. And for a time, it seemed like they would. Especially once You Know Who was killed. But then, moments he was killed, the sky turned blood red and a bloodcurdling scream filled the air. The witches and wizards turned to the source of the sound and saw a fearsome sight; creatures the epitome of evil and death itself. Triumph turned to confusion and then fright. Slowly, those who were able tried to back away. And then creatures attacked, ripping and tearing and then realization struck. They had heard stories about these creatures, spoken in hushed whispers as something so horrible even You-Know-Who was scared of them. Few actually believed they were real; instead they thought it was just a story told to scare children. But that night the scary stories came true. It had been a blind race for survival. Those that were too slow died a horrible death and those who survived were forced into the arms of their enemies. Now the Light was outnumbered. Most of their people were now dead. Those still alive sat in these small boats, leaky boats with icy water sloshing around their feet.

And once again, Ron sat in the face of danger and still he could not be fazed. For, few knew it, but he had something no one else had. He had Hermione. And even though he did not know where she was, he was determined to see her again, and no Dementor could keep him from her.

OoOoOoOoOo

Hermione Granger opened her eyes to a stunning darkness. She sat in her bed and pulled her duvet closer around herself. She waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness and would be able to see her four other dorm mates. With her luck, Lavender would be awake, gossiping with Parvati, and then they both would ask her for the hundredth time, if she and Ron were really dating. But the darkness wasn't going away. She stuck her hand under her pillow and groped blindly for her wand in darkness, but came up empty handed. Feeling around, she found a small candle on a table on the side of her bed, and after much sightless searching, lit it with the match she had found in the table's drawers. She held up the candle, and observed the room, and realized to her growing horror that it wasn't her room at all.

Hermione stared around the room, quite certain she had never been here before. The walls and ceiling were black. There were pictures on the walls that Hermione couldn't make out. The floor was blood red marble. Hermione slid off the bed and shivered as her feet touched the cold barren floor. She wrapped the green silk duvet around her shoulders and tentatively crept across the room, and by the flickering light of the candle, saw a door. She opened it and walked out into a corridor.

The corridor was plain gray stone, lit by candles at random intervals. Hermione walked down the corridor quickly, thankful for the light. She stopped when she cam to another door. She heard voices on the other side, and pressed her ear against the door.

"No, I just don't see why he wanted her. I mean, there were so many more available; I'm certain he could have found someone of pure blood," a female voice said.

"I know darling, but it was his choice," replied a man in a familiar cold drawl. Hermione gasped, as she recognized the voice, and took a step back. The floor creaked beneath her. She froze and her breath, slightly scolding herself for making noise. When the talking resumed, she let out an inaudible sigh of relief and pressed her ear against the door once more. "I think our son feels quite an attachment to her."

There was a long pause in talking. Then finally, the woman answered, "You're right. It does seem he looks at her affectionately.Do you think that's why he wanted her? Because he fancied her? Do you think that is why he wanted her as a servant rather than use her for torture - so she could become his mistress?"

"I hope not. What would happen if anyone found out our own son had -?" The man stopped abruptly as though what he were about to say was unthinkable. Hermione decided to move on, and stepped back, forgetting the creaking floor.

"Did you hear something?" asked the man. Hermione tried to turn and run, but the door was opened. She saw both the man and the woman, their blonde hair shining in the glimmering light from the room behind them.

"Seems you were eavesdropping on us," the woman said.

Hermione reached inside her robe for her wand, forgetting that she hadn't been able to find it in her bed. Frantically, she felt in every pocket desperately to protect herself. The woman obviously found this amusing and she laughed, her high-pitched cackles rebounding off the walls. The man chuckled as well. "Oh look dear. She's trying to find for her wand. Poor daft thinks we'd actually let her keep it."

The man chuckled as well. "I always knew she was daft. She was on Potter's side, wasn't she?" the man asked, sneering at her.

Hermione turned away, letting the duvet and lit candle drop to the ground. She ran blindly down the corridor and straight into the arms off Draco Malfoy.

The next time she awoke, Hermione was back in her bed at Hogwarts. She smiled as she saw the other four empty four poster beds, and felt lucky to have the dorm to herself. Relieved, she made her way to the familiar window seat. Her encounter with the Malfoy's had only been a dream. She had been getting nightmares like that for the past year, since Dumbledore's death. She sat at the window seat and pulled her legs up to her chest. She looked out at the window and down onto the Hogwarts grounds. It was lovely spring day and Hermione began to daydream of the lovely time she and Ron could spend together outside.

Only …she couldn't. Something told her she was forgetting something important. Suddenly the previous night's events played in her head like a movie. The death of Voldermort, her fight with Bellatrix, but most importantly the last time she had seen Ron. As if in slow motion she pictured herself running to him, shouting out a warning as a curse headed directly at him, but she was too late. The curse hit Ron from behind. Slowly, he crumpled forward, and hit the ground with a hollow thump. Hermione flung herself at the ground next to him and cradled his head in her lap, unable to tell which curse had been used. She hoped to God that the curse had just stunned him. And then, everything went dark.

Frightened anew, Hermione reached for her wand and then noticed she didn't have it with her. She sped across the room, leapt onto her red and gold clad bed, and pulled the pillow back. Her wand was not there. Confused, Hermione shook the pillow again. She always kept her wand nearby, especially now at the height of the war. She placed her hand into the pocket of her robe, thinking she might have missed it the first time she looked.

"Looking for this?" Draco Malfoy asked, twirling her wand around in his pale fingers. Hermione was at a loss for words. Draco, in her dorm? How could he- how did he? How-

"I bet you liked what I did with the room. Before, I think you found it quite a bit too Slytherin." He pulled out his own wand and with a flick of his wrist, turned the room back into the dreadful room with the black walls and red floor.

"Give me wand!" she yelled, advancing on him. She never even got close to him. Snakelike cords flew from Draco's wand and wrapped tightly around her legs, waist, and arms.

"Now listen Mudblood. You should feel extremely lucky. Have you any idea how few or your people are alive? Just you and the hundred or so we shipped to Azkaban this morning. I had you defenseless at my hands and I could have done whatever I wished with you. Did I throw to the Dementors? No. Did I torture you until you were insane or kill you? No! Did I let them take you, as they did with so many others? No! And why not Mudblood? Because, I have something special I want from you." He unbound her then, and Hermione fell forward as the restraints dropped away.

"Starting tomorrow, you will be our slave. Anything my mother, father, or I want you must do. Every order we give you must follow or else. And before you ask, or else what, let me just assure you that you don't want to know." he snarled smugly. He walked out of the room and slammed the door, leaving Hermione alone in darkness.

A/N: Read and Review Please! Oh yes, though it's a day late, Merry Christmas!


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Only Hope 

Author: Ronandmion4ever

Rated: PG-13 for language and sexual situations and maybe violence. I'm not completely sure.

Summary: With Voldermort dead, the world was supposed to be safe. But when a new deadly enemy comes into play, evil prevails. Now the fate of the world lies in the hands of Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Unfortunately one is in Azkaban and the other is in the possession of one of the most evil Deatheaters. They are the only hope for the world, but will they be enough?

Pairings: Ron/Hermione

Disclaimer: Not mine! It all belongs to JK Rowling.

Authors Note:Here it is! It's been about a week and a half since I last updated I think... I'm not sure... But anyway, this will be about the length between updates from now on.

Hermione woke to a sharp clanging. She stretched gracefully, her fingers brushed against the headboard and her feet hung off the foot of the bed. She rolled onto her stomach and slammed down the off button on her alarm clock. She quickly did her hair and put on her clothes, then headed off towards the kitchen.

On her way through the ornate green and black halls, Hermione's mind wandered to Ron. Oh, how she missed him. His lopsided smile that could usually brighten any day, his sarcastic remarks, his bright blue eyes, even his smell, though she had only gotten to smell it when they were extremely close. Their time together had been all too short. They enjoyed maybe two months together as a couple before the tragic circumstances the night of Voldemort's defeat ripped them apart. She thought of all the things left unsaid, or undone. She hadn't even told her she loved him.

Hermione held up her left hand and looked at her bare ring finger. She imagined the ring that should be there, simple yet beautiful nonetheless. And Ron would blush when he gave it to her, apologizing for the simplicity, telling her it was all he could afford. She would love it of course, for she never wanted a lavish ring anyway.

But that would never happen now. She had already been informed, the day after she arrived, that Ron was dead. Draco, his face twisted in an evil sneer told her the story of the Order's horrible defeat and the Dark's triumph.

She felt the tears lightly rolling down her cheek, but hastily wiped them away She couldn't let herself remember right now. Only at night, in the safety of her bed, would she think about him. She would wrap up in a ball and play her favorite Hogwarts scenes (almost always ones containing Ron) over and over again in her head sobbing. In the morning, when she woke from a fitful sleep haunted by his face, she always found herself buried in her tear-soaked pillow, her fingers wrapped tightly around the locket he had given her for Christmas. But when she was awake, she couldn't cry, for that would show weakness and the last thing she wanted was the Malfoys to think she was weak.

Hermione pushed open the door to the kitchen and walked in, turning on a gas lamp She made French toast (which she burned), eggs (into which she "accidentally" dropped a tremendous amount of salt) and biscuits (which she also burned). She set them down brusquely on the fine dining table, along with a jug of slightly sour milk, and a pot of cold coffee.

At precisely eight, all three Malfoys entered the grand dining room. Narcissa, the most awake, had her hair pulled back in an elegant bun, her makeup done, and was dressed in fine green silk robes. Lucius was dressed as well, but he walked slowly and was still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Draco straggled in last, his eyes completely closed and wearing a dressing robe over his pajamas.

They looked upon Hermione's pitiful breakfast and sighed, but they accepted it. Though Hermione did the work, she always did it hastily and slap dashed, and usually required one of the Malfoys to correct her work. Draco mumbled something, an insult most likely, incoherently ad Narcrissa sent her a rude glare. Lucius was annoyed and he to shot a glare at Hermione before flicking his wand and turning her meager breakfast into a feast.

Hermione grew restless as she waited for the Malfoys to finish their breakfast. She couldn't leave for there was still coffee to pour, dishes to clean, and anything else they might need as they dined. She bounced from foot to foot, until finally they finished and gave her the daily assignment.

"Today, Mudblood, you are to clean each and every bathroom, starting with the basement and working your way up. If you aren't finished by the time you have to start dinner, you'll just have to stay up late this evening to finish," Draco said, handing her a bucket of bathroom cleaning supplies. She stalked off, but as she reached the doorway, Draco called her back.

"Oh, and Mudblood, today we will have several visitors. You are not to talk to them."

She set off and began to work. Each bathroom seemed worse than the last, but Hermione didn't mind too much. She'd spent the first eleven years of her life living like a Muggle, so she was quite used to the cleaning. That was the only thing she didn't mind. She hated living with the vilest people on Earth. She hated being called Mudblood. She hated being a slave. She hated it when Draco ogled her when she bent over anything; his eyes focused on her bum. She hated the fact that she was alive and Ron was dead. She hated that she, the smartest witch of her age, had yet to come up with an escape plan, and she had been trapped in Malfoy Manor for three months already. It didn't take her to long to clean, especially sine she rushed her job, so she had nothing to do until dinner.

Hermione sat down in one of the chairs in the vast library, and tried to pretend she was back at Hogwarts and needed to solve something. She wracked her brain for possible escapes, when voices interrupted her. She looked up and saw Narcissa and Bellatrix standing at the front of the library. She silently crept towards them, partially hidden by a row of high shelves.

"She's really that bad?" Bellatrix was asking when Hermione got in earshot.

"Yes! She's horrible. Her food is rubbish, she's always fighting against us, and her cleaning is poor."

"Then why don't you just get rid of her?" Bellatrix asked.

Narcissa sighed and rolled her eyes. "Draco insists we keep her. And it's the least we could do, seeing as it was his idea to use," Narcrissa stopped her sentence there.

Bellatrix obviously understood as she nodded. Then her eyes lit up. "If only she were my slave. Oh, the things I would do to that Mudblood bitch." The sisters laughed together, "In fact, I can show you right now. _Crucio_!"

Hermione felt the searing pain of the curse run through her whole body, and she crumpled to the floor. It wasn't the first time; however, that she'd had to endure this torture. In her first days at the manor, she'd refused to leave her room. Lucius and Narcissa blasted their way into her room and tortured her. Though they only cast the Cruciatus Curse once, it was enough to scare her into working. Not enough however, to make her do it right. She bit her lip, not letting herself cry out. Bellatrix lifted the spell and Hermione gasped in relief. She struggled to stand but fell as the curse hit her again, only this time, Narcissa cast the spell.

Hermione didn't know how long this went on, the two taking turns torturing her, laughing like giddy little schoolgirls, but she felt herself darting dangerously in and out of consciousness and the room was spinning. Finally, they stopped and left her alone on the floor by herself. Not until they had gone from the room, did she allow herself to scream and sob and hold onto her broken body.

Somehow, Hermione got her poor aching body up to her room. She collapsed in bed and tried to find a position didn't cause even more pain. Each time she moved something else hurt. She felt like giving up and not trying anymore, when suddenly, a single light of hope shined. She had an idea.

She went through her nightly routine of making dinner, turning down the Malfoy's bed, and then finally preparing herself for dinner, though tonight she was quite slower. She went back into her room afterwards, and slept fitfully.

A few hours later, Hermione climbed silently out of her bed and made her way down the corridor. She had been there long enough to know the Malfoys' every move at night. Narcissa would retire to bed first and sleep soundly, not waking up until morning. Lucius stayed up longer, reading in his chair in the library until midnight usually. Draco stayed up as late as Hermione and followed her, at a distance. It made Hermione feel odd whenever she was would see him silently starring at her from the kitchen while she was leaning the dinning room, or wherever she was. Tonight, she found Draco asleep, for which Hermione was thankful. And as always, just as the clock struck the quarter hour after three, Lucius slipped down to the kitchen for a snack That was Hermione's chance.

Hermione waited in a nook near the master bedroom, and watched as Lucius staggered out of his bedroom and down to the kitchen. She snuck in the room and watched Narcissa's chest rise and fall steadily until she was certain that she was asleep. Hermione crept to the bedside table and grabbed Lucius' wand. She grasped it in her hands and for a moment, felt tempted to curse Narcissa's sleeping form into oblivion, but decided not to and ran to the front door.

"_Alohomora_," Hermione whispered. She felt the familiar sensation of magic coursing through her veins, a sensation she'd dearly missed in her months of servitude. As she expected, the spell rebounded off the door. She wracked her mind for a more difficult spell, when an alarm cut through the air. Hermione winced and tried to run, but was caught in seconds by Lucius. He took his wand back dragged her to her room, slamming and locking the door behind her.

Hermione sat on her bed with her legs folded under her, unmoving, for hours. She was certain she was not going to be alive for much longer. Even though the Malfoys had tolerated her ill behavior and crude housekeeping, they would not tolerate attempted escape. Most likely, they would torture her, and this time, Hermione knew she was too weak to last long. Her only hope was that they would just finish it and kill her, and not leave her insane. She did feel regret at her soon departure from Earth; maybe Ginny or her parents were alive and would miss her dearly, but she could do nothing for that. She did feel apprehensive and nervous, her stomach churning violently her breaths coming out ragged. But the thought that soon, she would be reunited with Ron kept her someone clam and very solemn

Finally, the alarm clock blared and Hermione shut it off. She went through her regular morning routine. She got dressed, made breakfast, waited on the Malfoys, did her daily chore, and then went to her room. Something wasn't right, she though later as she cooked their lunch. Why would they wait to kill her?

After lunch, more cleaning, and then preparations for dinner. Though relieved, Hermione was quite perturbed. Why would the Malfoys not kill her instantly? So she tried to go through the day cheerful and happy, glad to have more time. Then she heard Narcissa call her from her room.

"Come in, Mudblood," she said when Hermione opened the door. Hermione obliged silently. "As you are well aware, trying to escape is against the rules we have set. These past few months we have tolerated you, but we won't be doing that anymore." Hermione sighed and waited. "Get your cloak," Narcissa commanded.

"What?" 'Narcissa's hand darted out and smashed into Hermione's cheek. Blinking away stars, Hermione tried again, "I mean, what, Mrs. Malfoy?"'

"I said, get your cloak. We're going to a party, for a certain redheaded friend of yours. Oh, yes. Here," Narcissa added, throwing a crumpled set of dress robes in her face. "Wear this."

A/N: R&R!


End file.
